I have an idea for an adventure path I’d like to write. It is based on the old Batman: the Animated Series episode called “The Man Who Killed Batman.” The central question is “What would happen if a group of first-level characters killed an ancient gold dragon?” It is meant to have lots of humor, political intrigue, mistaken identity, warfare, and general hijinks, high stakes, and melodrama.
But I’ve never written an adventure path before. I don’t know how to even begin. I’m looking for friendly advice.
You could have various characters react to the news, and have the players watch as the world changes accordingly. I imagine alot of monsters would grow very restless.
I mean a system of plot hooks, foreshadowings, etc., basically an entangled (temporaly, spatially, and thematically) set of encounters spinning off from the inciting incident (the death of the dragon) and a set on NPCs the PCs can interact with in resolving these encounters as well as environments for these encounters to occur in.
Are you thinking this is a session, an arc of a few sessions within a campaign, or a full campaign?
Giving a detailed answer would be a bit much for the boards here. But if you figure out the scope, it might help you know where to look next in terms of design. Fwiw, the new DMG has some good advice on how to create any of those options.
Basic way I do it is bullet point out the story each chapter = 1 session, so for something like this lets say 10 sessions, come up with the 10 chapters then the 2 things that must happen each chapter then the hook to get to the next chapter then the maps you will need for each chapter then the npcs you will need for all the chapters ... honestly this is a pretty ambitious 1st go at it. Maybe start with a 3 shot something more traditional then tackle something this large.
The main thrust of the Batman episode was that everyone, especially the Joker, was angry that a nobody killed Batman because they didn't deserve it. If you're trying to emulate that then you'll need a reason why killing the dragon is upsetting people. Maybe it was a much loved city mascot, maybe there's a prince who needed to slay it in order to fulfil his destiny and now wants revenge, maybe everyone thinks the party are now sitting on a treasure horde and everyone wants a share. Basically you need a reason everyone isn't happy they killed it in order to set up a villain
The main thrust of the Batman episode was that everyone, especially the Joker, was angry that a nobody killed Batman because they didn't deserve it. If you're trying to emulate that then you'll need a reason why killing the dragon is upsetting people. Maybe it was a much loved city mascot, maybe there's a prince who needed to slay it in order to fulfil his destiny and now wants revenge, maybe everyone thinks the party are now sitting on a treasure horde and everyone wants a share. Basically you need a reason everyone isn't happy they killed it in order to set up a villain
The idea I have in mind is that there are several parties upset that the dragon is killed. The dragon kept peace between several warring factions and they all suspect the PCs were hired by their enemies to kill the dragon, so their suspicions as to why the PCs were hired to do so helps keep things confusing.
I mean a system of plot hooks, foreshadowings, etc., basically an entangled (temporaly, spatially, and thematically) set of encounters spinning off from the inciting incident (the death of the dragon) and a set on NPCs the PCs can interact with in resolving these encounters as well as environments for these encounters to occur in.
Maybe I'm mistaken, but it sounds to me like you're looking for advice on how to write a campaign, or a module.
Some questions to answer beforehand that might help you get started:
1.How long do you hope this adventure will run? (One session, a handful, many months or years...Fewer sessions = less complications/encounters needed.) 2. What is the main conflict in your adventure? (All heroes need a problem to face. "What happens when...?" is not a problem, it's a postulate.) 3. Who is driving the conflict? (Figure out who's the threat. Is it the dragon's mate? A slighted mercenary guild? The president of the dragon's fan club?) 4. How is the conflict driver working toward their goal? (BBEGs have an impact on the game world. What are they doing that your heroes need to stop?) 5. Where is the conflict taking place? (An urban adventure is going to have different trappings than one set in Icewind Dale or the Astral Sea.)
Once you have answers to those, you can start getting more granular, such as, "What people might the party encounter in my city setting?" "My villain is three kobolds in a trenchcoat. What kind of weapons and monsters would they have at their disposal?" "I want the town newspaper/crier to play a role in this. What NPCs, opportunities or problems could I throw at the party to let them interact?"
I wouldn't worry about scripting every detail. No campaign or session plan survives contact with the player, and they will chase down leads and options you never even considered being important. Sometimes those player detours make for the best storytelling, so be open to it.
Also, everything I just said is one way of planning an adventure. Top-down approach. There are dozens of ways to do it, including starting with the granular stuff, like, "I want the players to fight three kobold dragon fanboys in a trenchcoat!" and zooming outward. My goal was not to be comprehensive, rather to give you a springboard. Hopefully it's helpful!
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I have an idea for an adventure path I’d like to write. It is based on the old Batman: the Animated Series episode called “The Man Who Killed Batman.” The central question is “What would happen if a group of first-level characters killed an ancient gold dragon?” It is meant to have lots of humor, political intrigue, mistaken identity, warfare, and general hijinks, high stakes, and melodrama.
But I’ve never written an adventure path before. I don’t know how to even begin. I’m looking for friendly advice.
What does 'adventure path' mean in this context?
You could have various characters react to the news, and have the players watch as the world changes accordingly. I imagine alot of monsters would grow very restless.
I mean a system of plot hooks, foreshadowings, etc., basically an entangled (temporaly, spatially, and thematically) set of encounters spinning off from the inciting incident (the death of the dragon) and a set on NPCs the PCs can interact with in resolving these encounters as well as environments for these encounters to occur in.
Are you thinking this is a session, an arc of a few sessions within a campaign, or a full campaign?
Giving a detailed answer would be a bit much for the boards here. But if you figure out the scope, it might help you know where to look next in terms of design. Fwiw, the new DMG has some good advice on how to create any of those options.
Basic way I do it is bullet point out the story each chapter = 1 session, so for something like this lets say 10 sessions, come up with the 10 chapters then the 2 things that must happen each chapter then the hook to get to the next chapter then the maps you will need for each chapter then the npcs you will need for all the chapters ... honestly this is a pretty ambitious 1st go at it. Maybe start with a 3 shot something more traditional then tackle something this large.
Best of luck!
The main thrust of the Batman episode was that everyone, especially the Joker, was angry that a nobody killed Batman because they didn't deserve it. If you're trying to emulate that then you'll need a reason why killing the dragon is upsetting people. Maybe it was a much loved city mascot, maybe there's a prince who needed to slay it in order to fulfil his destiny and now wants revenge, maybe everyone thinks the party are now sitting on a treasure horde and everyone wants a share. Basically you need a reason everyone isn't happy they killed it in order to set up a villain
The idea I have in mind is that there are several parties upset that the dragon is killed. The dragon kept peace between several warring factions and they all suspect the PCs were hired by their enemies to kill the dragon, so their suspicions as to why the PCs were hired to do so helps keep things confusing.
Maybe I'm mistaken, but it sounds to me like you're looking for advice on how to write a campaign, or a module.
Some questions to answer beforehand that might help you get started:
1. How long do you hope this adventure will run? (One session, a handful, many months or years...Fewer sessions = less complications/encounters needed.)
2. What is the main conflict in your adventure? (All heroes need a problem to face. "What happens when...?" is not a problem, it's a postulate.)
3. Who is driving the conflict? (Figure out who's the threat. Is it the dragon's mate? A slighted mercenary guild? The president of the dragon's fan club?)
4. How is the conflict driver working toward their goal? (BBEGs have an impact on the game world. What are they doing that your heroes need to stop?)
5. Where is the conflict taking place? (An urban adventure is going to have different trappings than one set in Icewind Dale or the Astral Sea.)
Once you have answers to those, you can start getting more granular, such as, "What people might the party encounter in my city setting?" "My villain is three kobolds in a trenchcoat. What kind of weapons and monsters would they have at their disposal?" "I want the town newspaper/crier to play a role in this. What NPCs, opportunities or problems could I throw at the party to let them interact?"
I wouldn't worry about scripting every detail. No campaign or session plan survives contact with the player, and they will chase down leads and options you never even considered being important. Sometimes those player detours make for the best storytelling, so be open to it.
Also, everything I just said is one way of planning an adventure. Top-down approach. There are dozens of ways to do it, including starting with the granular stuff, like, "I want the players to fight three kobold dragon fanboys in a trenchcoat!" and zooming outward. My goal was not to be comprehensive, rather to give you a springboard. Hopefully it's helpful!